STATE COLLEGE, PA – Sources say that the NCAA will soon give Penn State the “death penalty” for football – canceling their 2012 season.

STATE COLLEGE, PA – Sources say that the NCAA will soon give Penn State the “death penalty” for football – canceling their 2012 season.

The scandal surrounding Pennsylvania State University has many people calling for the school’s illustrious football program to receive the NCAA’s dreaded death penalty. And it looks like they may get their wish.

The NCAA “death penalty,” was given out once before to Southern Methodist University in the 1980s doesn’t directly kill off a program, but it does choke its ability to thrive, if not survive by withholding scholarships, banning post season appearances and the like.

The former Penn State defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, has been charged with multiple counts of child molestation, following reports that he engaged in homosexual behavior with boys who were as young as 10 years old. That charge led to the downfall of the university’s president and revered head coach, Joe Paterno.

Typically, there is no mechanism within the NCAA governing body to punish Penn State regarding the Sandusky scandal. This is a law enforcement matter only. The NCAA, however, has reviewed the matter and feel that a number of their own rules were broken.

Many believe that for Jerry Sandusky’s victims, their lives as they knew them died the moment he laid a hand on them. So too should the program that was placed above the children suffer the same fate.

Penn State needs to rebuild its reputation and sources say that the NCAA feels that the “death penalty” will allow them to start anew.

An insider at the NCAA said, “We may have been wrong to administer the death penalty so many years ago to SMU, but for it to not be used again in this case, would be a tragedy for all of collegiate sports.”

Players can now move on and transfer to other schools without having to sit out a year. Meanwhile, Penn State can start to rebuild one of the most storied football programs in America.

Penn State football is confident it can recreate its image from scratch. The NCAA agrees and “the only way for rebirth to happen is them to receive the ultimate penalty first.”